By Roy Hezron
Former University Academic Staff Union (UASU) National Chairman and long serving UASU Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) Chapter Prof. Sammy Kubasu is making a return in the union’s national leadership by eying the Secretary General seat.
Prof. Kubasu, who has now changed his name to Prof. Kubasu Kwashe seeks to oust the current sitting Secretary General Dr. Constantine Wasonga in the union’s national elections slated for June 23, 2021 at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu.
Speaking to Education News recently, Prof. Kubasu said that he is going to make a follow-up on the 2013-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to ensure its full implementation.
“When I was the National Chairman, all our CBA’s which we negotiated and signed were implemented, this one is not implemented. My team and I signed four (4) National CBAs and negotiated several Chapteral CBAs,” said Prof. Kubasu.
He added that “The fifth (5th) National CBA 2013 – 2017 was on-going in negotiations. Those CBAs have greatly changed the welfare, appearance and standing of the Don in society.”
Most recently, UASU Secretary General Dr. Wasonga has accused varsity heads of exclusion and secrecy in the implementation of the Sh6.6 billion lecturers pay deal, which the government offered as part of the 2017-2021 CBA which is supposed to benefit about 32,000 staff in 39 public universities.
Under the CBA, university staffs are expected to get a salary increment of between 5.75 to 6.27 per cent annually for the period of 2017-2021, with basic salary structure which covers a four-year period and is aligned with implementation of job evaluation results for public universities.
Prof. Kubasu added further that since the Office of Secretary General is major office of implementing various policies and activities of the union, it requires a person with good lobbying and negotiations skills which he already have since he has achieved a lot while he was serving as the national chairman since 2005 to 2017.
“That office requires somebody who is foresighted, properly connected with lobbying skills which I have had in this union for merely 15 years and Iam thinking that Iam wasted when Iam not in that level of negotiations. Lobbying skills, massive and diverse networks are what UASU needs to move to the next level. I think the responsibility of UASU dwindled when I left,” he added.
Prof. Kubasu stated that he will basically embrace dialogue, lobbying and negotiations for university managements to pay pending statutory deductions, and remit the same regularly and timely to among others SACCOs, KRA, and Pension; and pressurize universities to pay salaries promptly in order to allow members of staff to plan well.
According to Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra) report 2019, public universities and other tertiary institutions were accused of failing to remit members’ deductions to Saccos.
As per the report, the highest proportion of total non-remitted deductions are owed by public universities and tertiary colleges, and since there are five deposit-taking SACCO societies whose membership are directly drawn from the public universities and tertiary colleges, it severely impair the ability of these SACCOs to meet their financial obligations to members, as well as their financial stability.
“The highest proportion of the total non-remitted deductions amounting to Sh2.86 billion, representing 74.03 per cent of the total non-remitted deductions was owed by the public universities and tertiary colleges,” affirms Sasra in its report.
In resolving troubles associated in the appointment of the Public universities Vice-chancellors Prof. Kubasu said using his connection within various parliamentary committees notably for education and research and Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), he will submit UASU memorandum suggesting the amendment to the current University Act 2012 that will allow VC’s to be subjected for vetting.
“My team and I negotiated for competitive sourcing of Vice Chancellors and College Principals in public universities. If elected NSG, I will vouch for vetting of holders of these offices,” said Prof. Kubasu.
Prof. Kubasu served for 13 elective years as UASU national Chairman and the longest serving UASU MMUST Chapter since 2009 to date, and he is remembered as one who formulated for the Union motto “Education Liberates”
In addition, in collaboration with the team during his reign he negotiated the inclusion of Graduate Assistants as a Job Grade 10, complete with salary and house allowance, and formed working linkages and networking partnerships both locally and internationally through forming affiliations to the Trade Union Congress of Kenya (TUC-K) in which he was one of the three elected National Trustees, the Education International (EI), American Labour Solidarity and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
In 2019, Prof. Kubasu chaired a National Executive appointed committee which worked out a policy proposal on criteria for employment and promotion of academic members of staff which was later presented to Commission for University Education (CUE).
